Canada's Tyler Ennis declares for NBA draft

Tyler Ennis of the Syracuse Orange calls a play as Khari Price of the Dayton Flyers defends during the third round of the 2014 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at the First Niagara Center on March 22, 2014 in Buffalo, New York. (Jared Wickerham/Getty Images/AFP)

Canadian point guard Tyler Ennis is leaving Syracuse to enter the NBA draft.

“I’d like to thank Coach (Jim) Boeheim, the coaching staff, my teammates and the amazing fans of Syracuse for the opportunity to play at a great university like Syracuse,” said Ennis, a Brampton native, in a statement Thursday afternoon.

“I feel this experience has helped prepare me to fulfill my lifelong dream — to play in the NBA.”

Ennis, expected to be taken somewhere in the mid-late lottery, averaged 12.9 points, 5.5 assists and 3.4 rebounds in his freshman season, which ended abruptly with a loss to Dayton early in the NCAA tournament in Buffalo.

Ennis considered returning — but ultimately made the choice to leave.

“It was a tough decision because he had a lot of fun a lot of success, he had great people around him at Syracuse,” Tony McIntyre, Ennis’ father, told the Sun shortly after the announcement was made.